Family Facts: Social Science Research on Family, Society & Religion

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This finding looks at the relationship between the frequency of family dinners and the likelihood that teenagers will use drugs, tobacco, or alcohol.

The more often teenagers have dinner with their parents, the less likely they are to smoke, drink, or use illegal drugs. In fact, compared with teens who have frequent family dinners, those who have dinner with their families only two nights per week or less are at double the risk of substance abuse. Compared with teens who have dinner with their families only two nights per week or less, those who have family dinners five or more nights in a typical week are more likely to report that they have never tried cigarettes (85 percent vs. 65 percent), almost 50 percent likelier to report that they have never tried alcohol (68 percent vs. 47 percent), and more likely to report that they have never tried marijuana (88 percent vs. 71 percent).

Sample or Data Description
1,987 teenagers (1,044 boys and 943 girls) and 504 parents of teenagers in the 48 continental states of the U.S.

Source
"The Importance of Family Dinners"
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
CASA Survey Report: The Importance of Family Dinners Vol. NA, Number . September, 2003. Page(s) 3, 7.

FindingID: 5229